VA's Repub. Leader Crosses Line, Comparing Obama to Osama

I feel I'm losing grip on reality as I hear some of these comments spewing out of the Republican party--is it real? It feels like an alternate reality, surreal, as I read of the head of Virginia's Republican Party, Jeffrey Frederick, comparing Barack Obama to Osama Bin Laden: "Both have friends that bombed the Pentagon, that is scary," he said last weekend. And who was he saying this too? To volunteers who had come out to knock on doors in Virginia for McCain.

What world does this man live on? What hatred does he so easily let fall from his mouth?! I write that in complete seriousness--it infuriates me that, as Obama has rightly said, all this is making a big election about small things. The words of this Republican leader in VA would likely qualify as hate speech if it were directed at someone else, and this supposed leader--and how it degrades the word to use it for folks who act this way--willingly misleads with it. As I wrote here, these type of comments have been completely disproven, named as "one of the most appalling campaigns" in history, and yet McCain allows it--and not only that, he's continued to support phone calls pushing the same disgusting ideas. His appeasing comments at the last debate about always repudiating out-of-bound remarks just isn't true, with one of the most shameful of all coming out of his running mate's mouth, with not a word of repudiation.

As I've said before, both candidates have misled in ways, but the evidence is hugely stacked against McCain, and leads me to give up on the question of whether he or Palin are measuring their actions with any serious or consistent ethical or moral considerations--a distressing thought for me, as these folks are of course one of two options for not just any leadership positions, but two of the most powerful in our world.

If I have children one day, I can safely say that I would strongly consider living in another country if these guys are elected and things continue in this direction--we need people our nation's children can aspire to, respect, and mimic; and no, I don't believe that's too much to ask from politicians, as it has been done in the past, here and abroad, and there are some politicians leading in that way today.

Here's the full quote from the Time magazine article I quoted above:

"[Virginia GOP Chairman Jeffrey M. Frederick] climbed atop a folding chair to give 30 campaign volunteers who were about to go canvassing door to door their talking points — for instance, the connection between Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden: 'Both have friends that bombed the Pentagon,' he said. 'That is scary.' It is also not exactly true — though that distorted reference to Obama's controversial association with William Ayers, a former 60s radical, was enough to get the volunteers stoked. 'And he won't salute the flag,' one woman added, repeating another myth about Obama. She was quickly topped by a man who called out, 'We don't even know where Senator Obama was really born.' Actually, we do; it's Hawaii..."

These are folks from Gainesville, Virginia talking, and I can understand how they may have been misled, but it only emphasizes the need for anyone out there with a conscience--whether you're for Obama or not--to combat this crap whenever you come across it.

Photo credit: Time magazine.